//------------------------------// // Ch1: Meeting Rainbow Dash // Story: Arvak's new home // by mild hotsauce //------------------------------// Ch1: meeting Rainbow Dash Arvak was breathing heavily, scared out of his wits, but then it started coming back to him: he recognized this… unicorn… from the Soul Cairn. He quickly recovered from his frightened state, rushed around the bed, and pulled the now confused unicorn into a hug and saying -thank you- at a fast speed repeatedly. The unicorn was still and silent all the time he did this, until, “um, you’re welcome?” she squeaked. Completely freaked out by something, Arvak now realized that it must be the fact that a strange pony she woke up in bed with is now hugging her and muttering like a mad man. He backed up and rubbed the back of his head, only now realizing what he just did. He looked at his hooves, and worked them in different motions, “since when did I get so dexterous?” he gasped, “Since when can I talk!” his voice sounded like that of the spirit of his friend from the Soul Cairn. A new voice spoke up behind him, it sounded like the children that usually run around the towns that his friends usually go into, “uh, Twilight, who and what is that?” he now had something to call his new friend. “I think it’s the pony from the dream I had last night.” He remembered that vividly, and it was no dream. “Um, that wasn’t a dream.” Arvak said, and then recoiled slightly, not used to hearing his own voice. “Of course it was a dream, I went to bed last night, closed my eyes, and fell asleep, so a dream would be the only logical thing to call it.” She ranted, he then noticed that she was purple, like he was for some reason, that’s funny, last time he checked, he was a brown and white Paint horse. “Um, no it was not.” He said back, she deadpanned back at him, and was about to repeat herself, “before you say it again, didn’t you feel pain when that mistman hit you with that ice bolt?” She looked puzzled, then she nodded her head, “were you able to wake yourself up?” she shook her head, “how about change where you were like in a lucid dream?” she shook her head again. “But, if it wasn’t a dream, then what was it.” The fear in her eyes was gone, but he could feel some nervousness floating around her as she thought about what he said. “Twilight, what are you two talking about?” The voice spoke again, Arvak looked around, trying to find the voice. “Hey, buddy, down here.” He looked at the little lizard next to him. “Talking salamander, cool.” Was the only thing he said upon looking at the little creature in Twilights room. The salamander looked completely insulted, “I am not a salamander, I am a dragon, can’t you tell by looking at me?” he said, frustration clear in his voice as clear as the differences between Tamriel and he Soul Cairn. “If you say so.” He said back to him, then leaned close to twilight and whispered, “He’s delusional.” “Spike isn’t delusional; he’s really a dragon, a baby dragon but still a dragon. By the way, where were we when we were in my dream?” Twilight said, still intent on believing it was all a dream. “The Soul Cairn, and trust me, it was no dream. The only way to get in that waste of Oblivion, then you need to be either dead, or go in through a portal.” He explained. “I guess that tells us how you got there.” Spike grumbled. “What do you mean?” Arvak asked. “Um, you don’t know?” Twilight looked concerned. “I don’t know what, come on, I don’t like being left in the dark, both figuratively and literally. That place will make you scare of your own shadow if you stay too long… what were we talking about?” his thoughts wandered to other things, he had so many questions that he could not pay attention to one thing at one moment. Twilight just floated a mirror in front of him using telekinesis. Arvak just stared at the figure in the mirror, a purple horse skeleton with a flaming purple mane and tail as well as smaller ones on his hooves, his eyes were just glowing purple sockets, why was there so much purple? His mood darkened at the reflection when he tested to see if it was really him, it became more obvious when his flames became smaller and less bright. This explained why he never tired, why he did not need to eat, or drink. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news.” Twilight said solemnly, even Spike seemed a bit sad at the way Arvak reacted to the news. “It explains a lot that’s for sure.” He said. His flames got brighter as he thought of something. “Well, as long as I’m still alive… err… somewhat alive, I might as well make the best out of what I have.” He said brightly. Twilight seemed relieved at the sight of his attitude improving, she had some questions about that place in her dreams, but then again, she would not see that place again, so why bother. Her stomach growled, signaling that time of day again. She was going to say something, but hesitated. “Something troubling you friend?” Arvak asked. Twilight was startled by the fact he saw her as a friend even though he knew nothing about her. “Um, I would invite you to breakfast, but I was thinking of how rude that would be because… um… you know.” Spike looked at Twilight with a look that said –you really were going to say that, really.- “I don’t see why not.” Arvak chirped happily, slightly surprising Twilight. With that, they made their way downstairs towards the kitchen. “Wow, you have a lot of books, I think your collection puts the college of Winterhold to shame, or what I heard about it from my other friend anyway.” With the thought of his Nord friend, his flames slightly dimmed. Twilight noticed this, “is there something wrong?” “Yea, when I think of my other two friends, it’s just… I don’t feel right talking about it.” He replied. “That’s all well and good, but can we get back to the matter of breakfast?” spike asked, causing Twilight and Arvak to let out a few giggles, Arvak’s flames brightened up in the process. Then Arvak noticed they were in some kind of room with a table, chairs, and some weird furniture, it reminded him of something those Dwarf thingies would make. Spike sat in one of the chairs, while Twilight made them something to eat. She removed a box from a cabinet, which Arvak had no clue what was in it. She took out three bowls and a carton of…milk. Why put milk in a plastic container, it would not taste natural if you did that. She poured some small round puff things into the bowls, and then added the milk, she placed the three bowls at the table, one where spike sat, one next to him, where she sat, and one across from her, where he plopped himself down. Since he never sat in a chair before, he fell off when he tried to sit, eliciting a laugh from both of the other patrons in the room. He himself let out a short giggle, and tried to sit down again, succeeding in setting himself upright. He looked at what was in front of him, he saw the both of them using spoons to eat their milk covered puffs with, then he looked at his hooves, not the best thing to use utensils with. He frowned slightly, thinking how good claws or a horn would be right now, when the fire on his hooves grew, engulfed his whole right hoof, and formed a fiery little claw that he could control with the ease of a practiced master. He gazed at his claw-hoof, and then noticed that Twilight and spike were staring as well. “How are you doing that?” Twilight asked. “Honestly, I have no idea.” He picked up the spoon with his flaming claw, and started playing with it. “Well then, are you going to eat your cereal?” Twilight asked, derailing his previous train of thought. Arvak nodded and used the spoon as Spike did to scoop up some of this… cereal… and put some in his skeletal mouth. What surprised him, as well as the others in the room, was that he started chewing, and while doing that, the cereal was set on fire, purple fire. He swallowed like a normal horse, the flaming bits disappeared from his mouth, and a glow started appearing in his ribcage, it tingled. He then repeated the process, and the glow in his ribcage slightly increased in intensity. He looked around and saw that Twilight and Spike opted to eat and watch at the same time, Arvak felt a bit, uncomfortable under their gazes. He finished at the same time they did, then picked up the bowl and placed it in what he thought was the sink. Spike walked back upstairs to take a nap, Arvak guessed that’s all there was for a dragon to do in a pony town. “That was… interesting to say the least.” Twilight said. “Did you feel anything when your ribcage glowed?” “It tingled, but that’s it. Um, can you help me put out my hoof, I don’t know how to undue this.” He tried shaking his hoof, it did not work. He tried again, same result, and then he started flailing it about until it was enveloped in a purple aura. “Calm down, what happened when you did it?” Twilight asked. Arvak then imagined himself without the claw-hoof, and it actually worked. “Thanks Twilight.” “No problem. Uh, where are you going?” Twilight asked as Arvak started walking towards the door outside. “I’m going for a walk, why?” He asked. “Maybe you should wait on that, I don’t know how the ponies in town will react to seeing a walking skeleton, they might panic and get the royal guard sent here and that is a mess I don’t feel like dealing with.” She explained. “Well, what am I supposed to do, I need to burn off this energy somehow.” They both put their hooves to their chins in thought. Then, something crashed through the library window, making Arvak jump a few feet in surprise, and made Twilight yelp. A cyan figure then emerged from a pile of books that fell from the bookcase that broke her crash. “Rainbow Dash, What are you doing!” She yelled. “Oh, hey Twilight, I was just Trying a new stunt and….” She trailed off upon looking at Arvak, their eyes locked for a few seconds. “Uh, Dash?” Twilight asked, waving a hoof in front of Dash’s face a few times. Dash got up, and walked up to Arvak, with a curious look on her face that he tried to mimic to the best of his skulls abilities. She tilted her head to the right, which he did at the same time as her, and then she tilted to the left, which he copied, she jumped, he did the same. Then she jumped and did a backflip, he just stood there. “Hah! I win!” Dash yelled, but then a pair of purple flaming wings appeared on Arvak’s back, then he did a backflip just like she did, when he finished, the wings vanished. “Oh come on!” she said. Twilight just shook her head, regaining her senses and resisting the urge tointerrogate the skeletal pony on his abilities. “Rainbow Dash, why did you Crash through my window.” “Oh hey Twilight, what the heck is this thing?” Twilight face-hoofed at the fact that her question has just been dodged. “Hello, I am Arvak, nice to meet you.” He said in his usual cheery and ghostly voice. “Likewise, I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria. Hey, how did you do that wing thing?” Rainbow inquired. “Um, I really don’t know the fine details, but I just thought about what I wanted the flames to turn into, and they just did it.” He answered. “Dash.” “Yes Twilight.” “Care to explain why you decided to crash through my window, again.” “Oh, that, heh, heh, sorry. I was trying out a new stunt when Pinkie popped out of a cloud yelling something that threw me off course and into your window.” Twilight groaned, of course it was the library that she crashed into, it happened six times this week so far. Just then, the top half of a pink pony emerged from a vase and then pulled Twilight and Rainbow Dash into some sort of huddle, and whispered to the. Arvak could not hear what they were talking about, but when they finished, the new pony vanished into the vase, leaving three stunned ponies staring at it. Arvak walked over, picked up the vase in his hooves, and stared into it, only succeeding in getting dirt in his eye sockets. He shook his head frantically trying to clear it out, while behind him, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were sharing a hearty laugh. After a good few seconds, he successfully removed the dirt from his eye sockets, but when he stopped shaking his head, he noticed how dizzy it made him. While trying to find a proper foothold on the spinning floor, he managed to trip and fall forward, eliciting another roar of laughter from the other two, Arvak joined in from his own clumsiness. They soon recovered from their laughter, and Rainbow got up, “well, I have to go and help Pinkie with that thing. Hey Arvak, why not stop by Sugarcube Corner later, I'm sure the others would love to meet you.” “I don’t see why not.” Arvak shrugged. “Cool, see you then.” Then she flew out the damaged window. Twilight sighed, “Well, better get this cleaned up. “I’ll help.” Arvak piped up. “Um, you sure, you don’t have to.” She asked, not sure if a purple skeleton had any cleaning ability. “Yeah, I mean you saved me from that waste of Oblivion. What could go wrong?”